Feldman’s last game, against the Oakland Athletics was fantastic—until the second inning rolled along.

Yes, there truly is nothing like an 8-run second to put a damper on a 1-2-3 first eh? It happens. Well, it has happened to both Derek Holland and Scott Feldman this year. Here’s hoping it won’t ever happen again.

In Feldman’s career at AT&T Park, he is 0-2 with a 7.04 ERA which is alarmingly consistent with the numbers he has put up this year so far overall. The Giants are batting .286 against the tall right-hander.

Scooter schools:

Gregor Blanco and Ryan Theriot have yet to record a base hit against Feldman in four plate appearances.

Kicks Scooter’s pooter:

Melky Cabrera. The “Melk Man” owns a .333 batting average against him.

Vogelsong

One of the best stories of last year’s season was the emergence of Ryan Vogelsong as a quality right-handed starter—at the not-so-tender age of 33 after battling various arm injuries throughout his career.

The former fifth-round draft pick (1998) put it all together last year, earning an All-Star berth, finishing up at 13-7 with a 2.71 ERA.

Vogelsong is largely a mystery to the Texas Rangers, as he has faced just three everyday players—Adrian Beltre, Yorvit Torrealba, and Michael Young.

Loves to face:

Adrian Beltre. Beltre is hitting just .167 against Vogelsong over his career.

Sees him well:

Yorvit Torrealba. Torrealba hasn’t been in the box against Vogelsong that much (6 PAs). But what he has seen he’s liked. Yorvit has scorched him to the tune of a .667 BA.

Rangers keys to victory:

Nobody expects Scott Feldman to pull a “Matt Harrison” and dominate the Giants for nine innings. However, it would be nice if Feldman could go at least five innings and surrender less than four runs.

If Feldman can manage that, and the Rangers’ rested bullpen—hat tip to Harri—are effective, the Rangers should be able to manage a second-straight win…if last night’s offensive production wasn’t just an illusion.

Prediction time:

I think the Rangers can manage enough offense to beat Vogelsong today. After that, it’s all up to Mr. Feldman. If he surrenders more than five earned runs, the Rangers might not have enough to battle back into the game. I think Feldman will have his best start of the season, and the Rangers will win 6-4.